G-Mac Looking For Wake-up Call

Graeme McDowell started the Arnold Palmer Invitational as the highest ranked player at the Bay Hill event. By the end of the opening round, the Ulsterman was bottom of the leaderboard after a shocking round of eight-over-par 80, McDowell's worst round since his 2005 US Open. The stand-out lowpoint for G-Mac came on the par-five sixth where he triple bogeyed after finding the water and three putting from 30 feet.

McDowell was left frustrated by his shocking round and the 31-year old knows he needs to find some form before heading to Augusta in a couple of weeks and the US Masters betting odds reflect this.

He said: "I haven't been very happy with my game for about four weeks. This may be the wake-up call I need, you know? So it's a good thing really, a reality check for me."

After such an impressive 2010, many in the game have been backing McDowell to achieve big things this season. While it wasn't evident on his opening round form at Bay Hill this week, G-Mac has all the attributes to succeed at Augusta, and add a Masters title to the US Open victory  from last year.

McDowell's putting has been his sore point over the past few weeks, and it will need to be addressed before teeing off at Augusta on April 7th. The greens have been an area of McDowell's game that he has had plenty of success, the Ryder Cup and US Open victories to name but two where the 31-year old's putting was on fire. There isn't a lot wrong with G-Mac's game at the moment, a good round could well be the springboard he needs to get his season back on track.